Thursday - February 22, 2018

Pest control services struggle to keep up with rat infestation worst hit areas in Seattle

Posted onJanuary 18, 2016

How do rats and mice gain access to buildings? The attic, basement,crawlspaces and anywhere food is stored, That is why it is important to make sure those cabinets and pantries are secured. Finding mice droppings or mouse droppings check all food items to make sure that they have not been tampered with, if they have been, then throw them away. Clean the place where the droppings were found with a good cleaner. It is time to call rat exterminator.

Successful long term rat control is not simple; a continuing commitment to whatever solutions are adopted is required. Some rats will be easy to control, some are difficult. Complete rat control is often not possible in old barns and similar structures. Rat populations may also be a consequence of community wide activities over which control of improper garbage disposal, dog waste in backyards, building demolition, and poorly maintained bird feeding stations.

Rat problems and infestation in homes or commercial business building

Many people want to know how to kill rats, but the reality is that killing the rats may not be the best solution to a rat infestation problem.Rats are a nuisance species for many reasons. Most residents and business owners overlook the noise, scurrying and scratching until the rats break into the living space and start to chew on and contaminate food items in the house.

The most obvious sign of a rat infestation is the presence of dead or living rats. Rats prefer to hide, given enough space, so if rats are observed in plain sight, it is likely that a full-blown infestation already exists. When space becomes limited due to increased population, rats are forced out into the open.

How to identify rats – Types of Rats: Common Rat Species Found in Homes or commercial business buildings

The most commonly found rat pest in seattle metro king county area is the Norway rat. Norway rats, sometimes called brown or sewer rats, are identifiable by their stocky, gray-brown bodies. Their tails are shorter than their body length and their ears and eyes are small relative to their body. Norway rats are larger than most other rat species. They burrow in gardens and fields, as well as beneath building foundations, trash or woodpiles. Norway rats line their nests with fibrous materials, such as shredded paper and cloth. These rats tend to inhabit the lower levels of buildings.

Roof rats, sometimes called black rats, are superb climbers that tend to nest above ground. In the wild, roof rats inhabit shrubs, trees and dense vegetation. In domestic environments, they seek out secure, elevated places such as attics, walls, sheetrock ceilings and cabinets. They may enter homes through trees close to windows or eaves.

What Do Rats Eat? Rat damage that should by of serious concern:

Rats have caused more human suffering and more economic damage than any other vertebrate pest. From causing plague epidemics to rat-bite fever, whether feeding on stored grain or gnawing electric wires. From pest control service reports estimate that rats destroy 20 percent of the world’s food supply every year by feeding, and indirectly through contamination.

In most instances, rats are very wary. Hundreds may be nesting in a city block in underground burrows, in sewers, on roofs, inside buildings with few people in the area realizing it. Store human and animal food in rat proof buildings, rooms, or containers. Rats are very capable of chewing through heavy duty plastic garbage cans. Use metal garbage cans where this is a problem.

Prevent raccoons and other animals from making garbage available. Keep your garbage can lid on tight by securing it with rope, chain, bungee cords, or weights. Better yet, buy garbage cans with clamps or other mechanisms that hold lids on. To prevent tipping, secure side handles to metal or wooden stakes driven into the ground. Or keep your cans in tight fitting bins, a shed, or a garage. Put garbage cans out for pickup in the morning, after raccoons have returned to their resting areas.

Prevent access to fruit and compost. Don’t put food of any kind in open compost piles; instead use a rat-proof composter or a covered worm box. If burying food scraps, cover them with at least 8 inches of soil and don’t leave any garbage above ground in the area including a smelly shovel. Pick up fruit that falls to the ground. Don’t allow garden produce to rot on the vine. Compost it into the soil.

Feed dogs or cats inside and clean up droppings.

One of the most common attractants around homes is pet food. The strong smell attracts rats from a distance. Once they get a taste of these nutritious foods they will try to feed there daily. Pick up food and water bowls, as well as leftovers and spilled food, before dark. Also, clean up pet droppings rats can subsist on a diet of droppings.

Prevent access to bird feed and feeders. Pet food and birdseed are the two items that attract the most rats around buildings. Once rats get a taste of these nutritious foods they will try to feed there daily. Place baffles above and below feeders to prevent rats from gaining access to feeder foods. Rats are attracted to the smell of seed hulls, so rake up the shells or offer birds hulled sunflower seeds. Eliminate access to water. Fix leaky outdoor faucets and, where practical, eliminate access to other sources of ground water.

Rats control service: How to get rid of Rats in Walls & Attic

Rat control & removal services requires an integrated approach that includes non-lethal tools such as careful inspections, sanitation, and rat-proofing structures. Lethal control often combines the use of rodenticides with non-toxic control measures such as snap traps or glue boards.

These are often under a building foundation or a concrete slab which provides a sturdy roof and prevents collapse of the tunnel. They are experts at benefiting from man-made structures. For example, in many cases, the dirt under a sewer line will settle creating a natural burrow under the pipe. Norway rats will follow these and gain access through the foundation wall into a crawl space because the hole in the foundation can be larger than the pipe.

Crawl spaces are favorate nesting areas, especially in the winter because they can get up in the insulation or even nest on top of heater ducts to stay warm and dry. Norway rats also nest in buildings, unused vehicles, woodpiles, discarded furniture, and other sheltered locations near food and water.

Rats are responsible for the spread of many diseases. Sometimes they transmit the disease directly by contaminating food with their urine or feces. Sometimes they transmit disease indirectly, for example, when fleas first bite an infected rat, then a person. Some of the more important diseases associated with rats include Rat-Bite Fever and Leptospirosis. These diseases often share similar symptoms, and medical professionals must perform the proper diagnoses.

Rat Exterminators Traps & Baits for Effective Control of Rats

Pest Control’s exclusion service prevents rodents from entering homes instead of controlling them after they are already inside. The service is environmentally friendly. Exclusions are performed with the best materials to ensure rats, mice, raccoons, or any other animal cannot chew their way into homes or place of business.

Rat exterminators are properly trained in how to get rid of rats and the elimination of rat problems using a variety of rat control techniques. These techniques include improving sanitation for the affected location, eliminating hiding places, exclusion and may also include lethal methods such as traps and rodenticides.